Senate Bill 1612 establishes petition process for visitations

STILLWATER — Effective Nov. 1, it will be easier and less expensive for non-custodial Oklahoma parents to have visitation schedules enforced.

STILLWATER — Effective Nov. 1, it will be easier and less expensive for non-custodial Oklahoma parents to have visitation schedules enforced.

In a written statement, Sen. Ron Sharp, R-Shawnee, said he filed Senate Bill 1612 to protect the visitation rights of law-abiding, non-custodial parents after visiting with attorneys and community leaders from around the state.

He called non-custodial parents being denied visitation rights a growing problem.

Sharp said there’s a disparity in how vigorously child support orders are enforced compared to how visitation is enforced.

Under the provisions of the law, custodial parents denying scheduled visitation to a non-custodial parent who is current on child support payments could face fines and be held responsible for covering attorney fees, mediation costs and court costs.

Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma provides a template for a standard visitation schedule that includes two weekends a month, alternating holidays, Father’s Day or Mother’s Day, and multiple two-week visits during the summer.

It also states that both parents should be allowed liberal telephone visitation, are required to keep each other informed about their respective addresses and telephone numbers and are required to give 30 days notice in writing before moving to a new address.

Parents are encouraged to promote a positive relationship between the child and the other parent and both are ordered to refrain from speaking critically of each other in front of the children.

The sample schedule is considered a minimum level of visitation and the courts encourage the parents to come to an agreement that allows additional time.

The previous option for enforcing a visitation order was hiring an attorney and filing a contempt action based on refusal to obey a court order.

Payne County Court Clerk Lisa Lambert said SB 1612 provides a Motion For Enforcement of Non-Custodial Parent Visitation Rights form that can be filed with the Court Clerk’s office. A hearing has to be set within 21 days of the filing.

Parents whose visitation has been interfered with or denied can be awarded additional time of the same type, whether it’s holiday, weekend, weekday or summer, to compensate for the time they missed.

One or both parents could be required to attend counseling or parent education, supervised visitation could be ordered and the previous custody order could even be changed if the judge finds it appropriate.

Co-author Rep. Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City said ensuring children are able to see both parents is part of protecting them.

Lambert said her domestic relations clerk Casey Duncan confirmed that she sees a fair number of non-custodial parents having difficulty with visitation.